Michael Blassie | |
|---|---|
 Blassie in his Air Force Academy cadet uniform in 1966 | |
| Birth name | Michael Joseph Blassie |
| Born | (1948-04-04)April 4, 1948 |
| Died | May 11, 1972(1972-05-11) (aged 24) nearAn Lộc,South Vietnam |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Air Force |
| Service years | USAFA: 1966–1970 USAF: 1970–1972 |
| Rank | First lieutenant |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Silver Star Distinguished Flying Cross Purple Heart Air Medal (5) |
Michael Joseph Blassie (April 4, 1948 – May 11, 1972) was aUnited States Air Force officer who waskilled in action during theVietnam War in May 1972. Prior to the identification of his remains, Blassie was the unknown service member from the Vietnam War buried at theTomb of the Unknown Soldier atArlington National Cemetery. After his remains were identified by DNA testing in 1998, they were reburied atJefferson Barracks National Cemetery in his nativeSt. Louis County, Missouri.
Blassie was born inSt. Louis in 1948. After graduating fromSt. Louis University High School he entered theUnited States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1970.[1] He then attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Columbus Air Force Base, receiving his aeronautical rating as an Air Force pilot in 1971. He subsequently qualified as anA-37 Dragonfly pilot and served as a member of the8th Special Operations Squadron, deployed to Southeast Asia. Blassie died when his A-37B Dragonfly was shot down nearAn Lộc in what was thenSouth Vietnam.
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Five months after the shoot down anArmy of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) patrol inspected the crash site and retrieved partial skeletal remains, an ID card, dog tags, a wallet containing a family picture, part of a flight suit, and the remnant of a pistol holster. The ARVN turned the remains and the other crash site items over to Captain William C. Parnell, who was then serving as an operations officer at An Loc. The name he read on the ID card was Air Force Lt. Michael Blassie. Captain Parnell wrapped the remains, and the other items found at the crash site, in plastic and held them overnight.
Parnell soon turned the remains over to the Saigon mortuary, along with the ID card and other items. The remains were eventually sent to a search and recovery center in Thailand before being forwarded to the Army's central identification lab in Hawaii. They were initially identified byMortuary Affairs as Blassie. The remains were reclassified as unknown when their projected age and height were judged not to match Blassie's.[1]
Blassie's unidentified remains were designated as the Vietnam Unknown service member byMedal of Honor recipient U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Maj.Allan J. Kellogg Jr. during a ceremony atPearl Harbor, Hawaii on May 17, 1984,[2] and were transported aboardUSS Brewton toNaval Air Station Alameda. The remains were then sent toTravis Air Force Base on May 24 and arrived atAndrews Air Force Base the following day.
Many Vietnam veterans, PresidentRonald Reagan and First LadyNancy Reagan visited Blassie as he lay in state in the U.S. Capitol. An Army caisson carried his casket from the Capitol to the Memorial Amphitheater atArlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 28, 1984. President Reagan presided over the funeral and presented the Medal of Honor to the Vietnam Unknown. The President also acted as next of kin to the unidentified Blassie by accepting the interment flag at the end of the ceremony.
DNA identification had yet to advance to its current state when Blassie's remains were repatriated, and he lay in theTomb of the Unknowns up to 1998, with visitors paying respects but unaware of his identity.
Articles inU.S. Veteran Dispatch in 1994 and 1996 had made the claim that Blassie was the Unknown, drawing on Defense Department records.[3][4] ACBS News report in January 1998 subsequently made the same claim. They interviewed Parnell, by then a retired Colonel living in Florida. He related his story of wrapping the remains, with the dog tags, in plastic.[3] After Blassie's family secured permission, the remains were exhumed on May 14, 1998. Based on mitochondrial DNA testing, Department of Defense scientists were able to identify Blassie's remains.[5] On June 30, 1998, the Defense Department announced that the Vietnam Unknown had been identified. On July 10, Blassie's remains were transported to his family inSt. Louis, and were later reinterred atJefferson Barracks National Cemetery. The Medal of Honor bestowed upon him as the Vietnam Unknown was not transferred to Blassie after his remains were identified.[6]
Following the removal of Blassie's remains from the Tomb of the Unknowns, the slab marking "Vietnam" over the crypt that once held his remains was replaced with one that read "Honoring and Keeping Faith with America's Missing Servicemen",[7] as it was decided that the Vietnam crypt would remain a vacantcenotaph.
As the Medal of Honor was ceremoniously presented to the unidentified remains, it did not transfer to Blassie – who did receive four awards, including theSilver Star (see above), on his own merit for documented valor, heroism and achievements during his actions in combat in Vietnam.
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| Preceded by | Persons who havelain in state or honor in theUnited States Capitol rotunda May 25, 1984 – May 28, 1984 | Succeeded by |
